Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante

A Maggie Hope Mystery

By: Susan Elia MacNeal

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this riveting mystery from Susan Elia MacNeal, England’s most daring spy, Maggie Hope, travels across the pond to America, where a looming scandal poses a grave threat to the White House and the Allied cause.

December 1941. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C., along with special agent Maggie Hope. Posing as his typist, she is accompanying the prime minister as he meets with President Roosevelt to negotiate the United States’ entry into World War II. When one of the First Lady’s aides is mysteriously murdered, Maggie is quickly drawn into Mrs. Roosevelt’s inner circle—as ER herself is implicated in the crime. Maggie knows she must keep the investigation quiet, so she employs her unparalleled skills at code breaking and espionage to figure out who would target Mrs. Roosevelt, and why. What Maggie uncovers is a shocking conspiracy that could jeopardize American support for the war and leave the fate of the world hanging dangerously in the balance.

©2015 Susan Elia MacNeal (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Susan Elia] MacNeal paints an engrossing portrait of a country on the verge of war, with many laws suspended and prejudice rife—a world not that much different from today.”—Kirkus Reviews

“MacNeal’s fifth Maggie Hope mystery is another solidly researched entry with the indomitable Maggie in top form.”—Booklist

“Another winner filled both with fact and marvelous fiction . . . Maggie is a wonderful character with the strength and determination, as well as intelligence, to make her a resourceful spy.”—RT Book Reviews

Enjoyable addition to the Maggie Hope Series

Story fits into the ongoing saga of Maggie Hope and her historical mystery adventures- good suspenseful story with adventures.

Please find a different narrator!

What didn’t you like about Susan Duerden’s performance?

The narrator is utterly distracting. The storyline is good but I found myself: turning off the book when anyone else was around because they immediately commented on the ridiculous and annoying voice; becoming so distracted by the voice characteristics that I would realize I hadn't heard any of the story and needed to go back and play again; and repeatedly wondering if I'd ever heard anyone speak in that manner in my entire life.

I am a fan of this series and while I appreciate that the narrator may be great in other books, she is a good fit with this one. I am very disappointed that Ms. McNeal has not returned to the original reader. I feel like I've read quite a lot of bad reviews of this narrator and I don't understand why she is continuing to read each book in the series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way could I make it through more than 30 minutes at a time with that voice. I normally listen to audiobooks for hours on end.

Good, but my least favorite so far.

I've really been enjoying these books; the writing is top notch and the main mysteries within are gripping and thrilling - but this one got very preachy - as if the author were determined to LECTURE the reader about racism and bigotry, rather than just explore them within the confines of the story.

The author also seems a bit obsessed with homosexuality. Besides the aunt and the best friend, it just comes up an inordinate amount - particularly considering the time frame.

This particular book - about protecting the First Lady's heterosexual standing and the long (tedious) discussions between the characters about the history of racism around the world seems a lot more contrived to serve the author's liberal agenda than in giving the reader a great WW II spy story.

Hoping Book 7 returns to the main themes and leaves the preaching for some non-fiction.

Excellent Continuation of Maggie Hart's Story

If you like a good mystery, this is a good candidate. It's not your typical puzzle mystery, but the insight into the US at the very beginning of the war is fascinating. A very good read, and a great continuation of Maggie's story.

Series Took a Dark Turn

Any additional comments?

Loved the first Maggie Hope books but they have taken a dark turn. Very disturbing, very detailed descriptions of horrible events. I'm using the fast forward to skip some of these descriptions as I still want to find out what Maggie Hope is going to do.

Pretty Good

I read the other reviews. I found the book to be entertaining and factual. The plight of the African American at this point in history was very bleak. It do no good to sugar coat the past for the sake of modesty. Modern people need to know the struggle to overcome the negative feelings of the past. Learn from history or be doomed to repeat it. I think that this book only touches on the race relations during this point in history. I feel this book was very good even though it may make some readers feel uncomfortable when listening. Be warned about the race relations in this book and know that it is handled delicately and with a certain amount of grace.

Okay

Would you consider the audio edition of Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante to be better than the print version?

I would purchase the print version only because I want the entire collection but this was not one of my favorites of the series.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not as intense as her previous plots

love the series

why does the app say review is optional but then makes me type 15 characters to be able to submit?

Such a disappointment

I love the Maggie Hope series. This one is a let down. It comes off as preachy. It gets bogged down with a storyline that I don’t care about. I’m interested to see what happens next with Maggie but I don’t know if I want to purchase another book. I barely made it through this one.

Annoying narrator

I enjoy this series of historical fiction, especially Winston Churchhill. The narrator, however, is most annoying with every sentence being delivered in a dramatic whisper. Plenty of time needs to pass between books before I'll listen to another.